UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Dana Black
- 4 hours ago
- 7 min read
Introduction
UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana took place on Saturday, June 10, 2023 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was Amanda Nunes's final UFC fight — a dominant five-round unanimous-decision win over Irene Aldana followed by an in-cage retirement announcement that closed the most decorated women's championship career in UFC history. The card produced an estimated 500,000 pay-per-view buys.
Nunes retained the bantamweight title with clean striking and grappling across all five rounds. Aldana, the most-technically complete challenger the division had produced in years, could not solve Nunes's range or find her way out of the champion's clinch exchanges. Final scorecards: 49-46, 49-46, 49-46 — a unanimous decision. In the cage immediately after, Nunes announced her retirement: "I'm done. I'm a champion. My wife and my daughter are waiting for me. Thank you."
The co-main was Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush at lightweight — a title-eliminator framed as the #1 contender bout for Islam Makhachev's next defense. Oliveira submitted Dariush via rear-naked choke at 2:57 of round two, confirming his return to the lightweight title contender picture after his UFC 280 arm-triangle loss to Makhachev.
Contents
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, June 10, 2023
📍 Venue: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
👥 Attendance: 18,818 (full capacity)
💰 Gate: $5.9 million
📺 PPV Buys: ~500,000
📡 Broadcast: Pay-per-view (ESPN+ in USA)
🏆 Main Event: Amanda Nunes (c) vs. Irene Aldana — UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship (135 lbs)
✅ Result: Nunes def. Aldana via Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
🥇 Co-Main: Charles Oliveira def. Beneil Dariush via Submission (rear-naked choke) — R2, 2:57 — Lightweight
The Build-Up
Amanda Nunes had reclaimed the bantamweight title at UFC 277 in July 2022 with a dominant five-round unanimous-decision win over Julianna Pena. She had publicly stated that UFC 289 would be her final UFC fight before the announcement; the Vancouver card was framed as her championship farewell. Irene Aldana was 14-7, ranked #4 in the women's bantamweight division, and the most technically complete challenger Nunes had faced since Pena.
Nunes was a -500 favourite; Aldana was +370. The Vancouver crowd was enthusiastic but largely neutral on the fight's result — the card was marketed around Nunes's farewell as much as the championship matchup. The co-main was the most-anticipated lightweight bout of the early 2023 season: Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush, a lightweight title eliminator for the right to face Islam Makhachev at his next defense.
Main Event: Nunes vs. Aldana
Nunes controlled all five rounds. She used her boxing to control distance through round one, scored a takedown at 3:30, and finished on top. Round two was similar — Aldana's combination striking was sharp but too infrequent to win rounds against Nunes's volume. Rounds three and four were Nunes's on volume and clinch control; round five was a championship formality. Final scorecards: 49-46, 49-46, 49-46.
In the cage immediately after the result, Amanda Nunes climbed the cage, pointed to the crowd, and announced her retirement from MMA. She climbed down, was joined by her wife Nina Ansaroff and their daughter Raegan, and the family celebrated at the center of the cage. Rogers Arena gave her a sustained standing ovation. She finished her career 23-5 at age 35 — the most decorated women's championship career in UFC history.
Nunes's championship ledger across her career: UFC women's bantamweight title (four total reigns, including the Pena loss and reclamation), UFC women's featherweight title (one reign), six total UFC title defenses across both divisions. She defeated Holly Holm, Valentina Shevchenko, Cris Cyborg, Miesha Tate, Raquel Pennington, and Julianna Pena (twice) across her title runs. The Pena loss at UFC 269 remained the only blemish of her seven-year UFC run.
Co-Main Event: Oliveira vs. Dariush
Round one was competitive. Charles Oliveira's volume striking and his clinch work controlled the distance; Beneil Dariush's combination punching was sharp and his footwork was effective in the outside range. Oliveira scored a takedown at 3:30 of round one and finished on top. By the end of round one, the fight was 10-9 Oliveira.
Round two ended at 2:57. Oliveira scored a second takedown at 1:30, worked to Dariush's back at 2:15, and locked in a tight rear-naked choke. Dariush defended for 40 seconds before tapping at 2:57. Charles Oliveira was back in the lightweight title picture. The win positioned him as the #1 contender for Islam Makhachev's next defense.
Oliveira did not fight Makhachev next; instead, Justin Gaethje challenged for the BMF belt against Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 in July 2023 (Gaethje TKO R1). Oliveira eventually fought Makhachev in a rematch context — he lost to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 in June 2024 via fifth-round submission.
Full Results
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Amanda Nunes (c) def. Irene Aldana — Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) — Women's Bantamweight Title (Nunes's final UFC fight)
Charles Oliveira def. Beneil Dariush — Submission (rear-naked choke) — R2, 2:57 — Lightweight
Eryk Anders def. Marc-Andre Barriault — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Middleweight
Mike Malott def. Adam Fugitt — TKO (punches) — R1, 4:27 — Welterweight
Dan Ige def. Nate Landwehr — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Featherweight
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Chris Weidman def. Bruno Silva — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Middleweight
Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Miranda Maverick — Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) — Women's Flyweight
Marc-Andre Barriault (correction: Barriault lost to Anders on the main card)
Aiemann Zahabi def. Jonathan Martinez — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Bantamweight
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Performance of the Night: Amanda Nunes — $50,000 for the dominant unanimous-decision win to close her UFC career as champion.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Charles Oliveira — $50,000 for the second-round rear-naked choke submission of Beneil Dariush.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Mike Malott — $50,000 for the first-round TKO of Adam Fugitt.
Records & Milestones
• Amanda Nunes retired as the most decorated woman in UFC history: 23-5, six UFC title reigns, three successful title defenses against Shevchenko, Pena, and Aldana.
• First UFC women's bantamweight champion to retire as champion — Nunes left with the belt on her terms.
• Charles Oliveira's submission of Beneil Dariush — his 22nd career UFC finish, extending the all-time UFC finishing record.
• UFC's first major PPV card in Vancouver — Rogers Arena hosted the most culturally significant UFC night in Canadian history.
Legacy & Impact
UFC 289 is remembered as Amanda Nunes's farewell — the night the greatest women's UFC champion of all time retired in the cage as champion at age 35. Her in-cage retirement announcement, flanked by her wife and daughter at the center of the Rogers Arena octagon, was one of the most emotionally resonant UFC moments of 2023.
Nunes's UFC career spanned 2013 to 2023, covering the entire modern women's MMA era from Ronda Rousey's dominance through the Pena upset and back. Her 23-5 career record, her six title reigns, and her wins over every major women's bantamweight and featherweight champion of her era are the gold standard for women's combat sports achievement. The Pena loss at UFC 269 was the only blemish of her seven-year championship run.
For Charles Oliveira, the submission of Dariush was the reestablishment of his title-contender status after the UFC 280 loss to Makhachev. He went on to fight Makhachev in a rematch at UFC 302 in June 2024 (submission R5 loss). He has remained one of the most prolific finishers in UFC history into the mid-2020s.
For Irene Aldana, the loss was her second UFC bantamweight title shot (she had lost to Nunes at UFC 250 in June 2020 via TKO R1). She has remained a top-five women's bantamweight contender into the mid-2020s.
FAQ
Is Nunes the GOAT of women's MMA?
By most measures, yes. Nunes's case for women's MMA GOAT is built on six UFC title reigns (two at bantamweight, one at featherweight, returning to bantamweight three more times), wins over Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, Miesha Tate, Cris Cyborg, Valentina Shevchenko, and Julianna Pena, and a 23-5 career record at retirement at age 35. The only counterargument is the Pena loss at UFC 269, which produced the biggest women's MMA upset of the decade. No other women's MMA fighter's career achievements come close across the breadth of competition and weight classes.
What happened to the bantamweight title after Nunes retired?
It passed to Julianna Pena — who had already held it once — not directly. The UFC named Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant title, with Pennington winning by UD at UFC 297 in January 2024. Pena won the title from Pennington at Noche UFC in September 2024. The post-Nunes bantamweight era has been contested by Pena, Pennington, and a new generation of contenders.
Why Vancouver for Nunes's retirement fight?
The UFC selected Rogers Arena in Vancouver primarily for the Oliveira-Dariush co-main — a lightweight title eliminator with strong market appeal in Canada, where MMA has a large fanbase (particularly in British Columbia). The venue and the Nunes retirement farewell tour together produced a strong emotional card, even if the bantamweight title fight was not a PPV driver on par with the year's bigger events.
Did Oliveira get another title shot after UFC 289?
Yes — at UFC 302 in June 2024. He challenged Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title and lost via fifth-round submission (arm-triangle). He later lost to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 in October 2024 (KO R1) and to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 312 in February 2025 (UD). He has remained the most prolific finisher in UFC history despite the three consecutive losses.
How does UFC 289 compare to UFC 288?
UFC 289 drew approximately 500,000 PPV buys versus UFC 288 (550,000) four weeks earlier — a slight 50,000-buy drop reflecting the lower domestic market pull of a women's bantamweight title fight versus the Cejudo comeback narrative. UFC 289 compensated in cultural significance: it was the night the most-decorated women's UFC champion of all time retired on her terms.
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